Slowly But Surely
by kateof08
Summary: Lily Evans and James Potter have been best friends ever since they met when they were ten. Once in sixth year, something unexpected happens...Lily falls for James.


**Ch. 1 - Puppy Love**

On a hot summer evening, a girl by the name of Lily Evans was walking her miniature collie Bubbles around the neighborhood. Her neighborhood wasn't that big, but Bubbles kept stopping every few seconds to sniff anything that looked even a little interesting, so their walk was taking a pretty good amount of time.

Lily had gotten Bubbles when she was only five years old, and for the past five years the two have been inseparable. Bubbles had been there for her during all the scary thunderstorms, he ate the scraps from the table after dinner, and he even chased away the squirrels from the pecan trees.

Suddenly, Bubbles let out a loud bark and took off running at full speed.

"Slow down!" Lily yelled out, trying to keep up with Bubbles.

Bubbles had heard the ice cream truck, which was a little more than two blocks away. Usually Bubbles was very well behaved, and listened to Lily the first time, but today was not the case.

After only running a block, Bubbles came to a stop. He stopped so suddenly that Lily almost tripped over him. They hadn't reached the ice cream truck, but instead Bubbles seemed interested in a lady dog that was across the street. 

Bubbles seemed very interested in the other dog, and he wasted no time in getting to the other side of the street. Bubbles immediately began sniffing the other dog; his tail waging extremely fast.

As Bubbles got acquainted with his new friend, Lily took notice of the other dog's owner. He was a tall, fairly skinny boy that had very messy hair.

"Hello," the boy greeted. "I'm James."

"Hi," Lily replied. "I'm Lily."

"I think your dog has taken a liking to mine," James said.

"Yea," Lily agreed.

"So do you live around here?" James asked.

"About two blocks that way," Lily answered pointing to the left. "Bubbles took off at a run when he heard the ice cream truck."

"I guess his heart got in the way of his stomach," James said smiling.

Lily just nodded her head. She was starting to notice now unusual James was. He was wearing normal clothes, but it looked as if he had had a little trouble in the morning. James also was pretty friendly considering that they had just met.

"What school do you go to?" James asked, trying to start up a conversation.

"Milton Elementary," Lily answered.

Lily had just graduated fifth grade, and after the summer, was going to be attending middle school.

"Oh," James said.

James had been hoping that maybe this girl could have been going to Hogwarts too. He didn't know hardly anyone in the neighborhood, and having one friend would have been nice.

"Well," Lily said. "I think I better be heading home."

"Yea," James said. "I'll see you around."

"Come on Bubbles," Lily said as she tugged at his leash.

When Lily got home, she was greeted by the aroma of pork chops and mashed potatoes

Mum must be cooking dinner, Lily thought as she made her way into the kitchen.

"Hello dear," Mrs. Evans said. "Start washing up for dinner; it'll be ready soon."

Lily nodded. She then washed her hands, and took a seat at the table. When Mr. Evans and Petunia had arrived, the Evans' sat down for dinner.

Lily and Petunia were really close. They built forts in the backyard, had sleepovers in each others rooms, and everything else that sisters did. Lily was also very close to her parents. More her dad than her mum though. Yes, you could probably call Lily Evans life perfectly normal.

Later that night, Lily laid in bed; her many thoughts keeping her awake. Lily was currently thinking about James. James was strikingly cute. He had beautiful hazel eyes and this unruly hair that Lily just wanted to touch. And not only was he good looking, but he had been totally friendly towards her.

"I hope we run into them again," Lily said to Bubbles, who was lying on the foot of her bed.

Bubbles let out a bark, and the two fell asleep; each unaware how much their lives were going to change in the next couple months.

A/N- Hope you liked this chapter! This is my first fic so please review and tell me what you think. And I dedicate this chapter to my lovely friend Loren, who typed this chapter because I have no will power. Please review!


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